Michael Katsidis-Kevin Mitchell going to March 2 purse bid
by Scott Christ on Feb 24, 2010 11:25 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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A March 2 purse bid will take place at the WBO's offices in Puerto Rico, as Aussie slugger Michael Katsidis and rising British star Kevin Mitchell move closer to a summer showdown, reports BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno.
Katsidis' manager Brendon Smith and Mitchell's promoter Frank Warren both seem to want the fight, with Warren of course wanting to host it in the UK (probably London) and Smith wanting to bring the fight to Australia, where Katsidis has not boxed since becoming a major star. Katsidis' last fight in Australia came in 2006. Coincidentally, his next fight (and first fight abroad) was in London, a vicious win over Graham Earl in a 2007 Fight of the Year contender.
There have been some big money fights in Australia recently, including Roy Jones Jr.'s shocking first round stoppage loss to Danny Green, and 2009's big middleweight showdown between Daniel Geale and Anthony Mundine, which brought in a lot of money. Katsidis-Mitchell could bring in plenty of money in Australia, too, but it would also be a major hit in London, and TV money from Sky and maybe even HBO would be quite handsome, and hard to pass up.
Wherever it has to land, though, let's just hope it happens. Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO) and Mitchell (31-0, 23 KO) are both generally good for an entertaining fight. It would really be the first big test of Mitchell's career. At 25 and with nowhere to go domestically but sideways, it's time to find out if he's got international talent.
My money would be on Warren winning the bid, if I were to hazard a guess.
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There's a lot more money in having the fight in London or the USA
If they’re basing a bid off Aussie money, they’re going to lose. Aussie TV probably wouldn’t pay as much (and my impression is that he’s not necessarily a huge name down there anyway), and when you consider time zone differences, it makes it almost impossible to sell to US or UK TV.
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"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Yes. You can put a Ricky Hatton fight on at a ridiculous time in the UK and still do quality business, but not a Kevin Mitchell fight. Not yet, and probably not ever. I don’t mean that as an insult to Mitchell as I think more of him at 31 fights than I did Ricky Hatton, but that sort of love affair with a fighter is a once in a generation thing. UK TV is why the fight will end up in the UK. Sky will want the fight, and there is nothing in Australia to match the money. The only way this ends up out of London is if HBO shows interest in it.
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